Safety device for mine buckets



m. 27, 1931. v T. FISHER I 1,829,587

SAFETY DEVICE FOR MINE BUCKETS Filed May 20, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 27/207701; ZZ ZeY ATTORNEY Oct. 27, 1931.

T. FISHER SAFETY DEVICE FOR MINE BUGKETS Filed May 20, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR zZawzwi jr er ATTORNEY Oct. 27, 1931. T. FISHER 1,829,587

SAFETY DEVICE FOR MINE BUCKETS Filed May 20, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 mvamon 2&0 adj 267262 7 ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 27, 1931 barren sra'ras PATENT OFFICE THOMAS FISHER, F CARL JUNCTION, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD T0 JAMES H. BENNETT, OF CARL JUNCTION, MISSOURI SAFETY DEVICE FOR MINE BUCKETS Application filed May 20, 1929.

The present invention relates to improvements in safety devices for mine buckets, one object of the invention being the provision of a safety device for interposition between the hoistingor main cable and bucket and guided upon wire guides, ropes or cables, and means associated with said safety device which, should the cable part, will grip the guides and hold the safety device and bucket against further downward movement, additional means being provided for releasing the bucket fromsaid safety device to permit the bucket to be removed and another bucket to be substituted when necessary.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a cross-head mechanism having guide wire-engaging means normally held out of operation when'the several mechanisms are in normal condition and which, under an abnormal condition, such as the breaking or parting of the main cable, will automatically come into operation to halt the bucket and cross-head.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a device of this char-- acter which is simple and durable in con.- struction, may be readily repaired and reset after an accident and is, therefore, thoroughly efficient and practical in use.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a View partly in elevation and partly in section'of a mine shaft equipped with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the complete cross-head in normal operating condi- Serial No. 364,537.

tion, a portion of the hoisting cable as well as a portion of the car attaching cable being shown;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing the parts in the position they assume due to the parting of the hoisting cable;

Figure 1 is a side elevation, on a larger scale than Figures 2 and 8, of the cross-head, the parts being shown in normal position in full lines and being shown in abnormal position in dotted lines;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of one side of the cross-head;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the disk cover for the cross-head and car.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 6 designates two fixed wire guides or cable adapted to be attached within a shaft at the top and bottom of the latter and to be stretched and held taut by springs or other means, while 7 designates a hoisting cable.

A coupling member 8 provided with a cupped or hooked portion or head 9, is secured to the lower end of the cable 7 and carries a swivel hook 10 for engagement with a bucket 13.

A cross-head 11, which may be constructed of various forms of metal strips, angle irons or the like, comprises a rectangular frame 12. A circular disk 13 of metal reinforced by two parallel angle irons 14 is mounted on the top member of said frame and constitutes a safety cover for the cross-head to protect the occupants of the car during ascent or descent thereof. Said protecting member 13 is provided at diametrically opposite points with slots 15 through which the wireguides 6 pass.

Mounted for vertical sliding movement within the frame 12 is a tubular member 17 of greater length than-the height of the frame. The tubular member 17 has a flange 18 at its lower end below the bottom member of the frame and a second flange 19 at its upper end above the disk 13. Thus the flanges 18 andgl9 respectively limit the upward and downward movement of the tubular member 17 relatively to the frame 12.

' The hoisting cable 7 is threaded through the tubular member 17 and, as stated, carries at its lower end the coupling member 8 and hook 10 for supporting the bucket Bi A cross head 20, secured between its ends to the tubular member 17 extends transversely of the frame 12 and has its opposite ends extending beyond theside members of said frame. Braces 21 between the tubular member 17 and the cross head 20 prevent relative movement of said parts. A coiled spring 22, surrounding the'tubular member 17 between the top member of the frame 12 and the cross head 20, urges the-cross head 20 and tubular member 17 downwardly in the frame 12. When the bucket B is raised or lowered'by. the cable 7, as by a hoisting engine (not shown),'the cable 7, as it is drawn through the tubular member 17, will lift the ,head 9' of thecoupling' member 8 against the flange 18 of said tubular member and the tubular member will befmoved'upwardly through the frame 12 until its flange 18'bears against the bottom member of said frame. The cross head 20 will mov'e'upwardly with the tubular member and compress'the spring 22, as shownin Figure 2.

A substantially rectangular frame 26 e11 tends laterally from each side member of the frame 12 below the cross head 20.: Each of the "frames 26jsurro'unds one of the guide wires 6 and'has its outer end member sup ported by arms 28extending upwardly'from the outersideo f a side member of the frame 12'. The'upper'ends' of the arms 28 are secured to the outer end members of the frames 26 by bolts 29 extending through the side membersof the frame 12, the end-members of the frames 26-and the arms 28 adjacent the upperfends of the latter;

Twoopposed 'levers'25 are fulcrumed on the bolts 29 withineach of the frames 26,

' one on each side of each guide wire 6, and the ends of said levers which are directed toward the guide wires'6 are formed as arcs of circles eccentric to the bolts 29. Pairs of links 24 are pivoted adjacent their upper ends on pins 23 carried by the side members of the cross head 20 andare also pivoted adjacent their lower ends to the outer ends of the levers 25', Thus'when the cross head 20 is move'dby the spring 22 toward the bottom member ofi'the frame 12 the levers 25 will be rocked to cause'the opposed arcuate and serrated ends 27 of each pair of levers to grip one of "the guide wires 6. When the cross head 20 is moved upwardly in the frame 12 by engagement of the head 9 with thelower' flange 18 of the tubular member 17 the levers 25 will be rocked in'the opposite direction to free their arcuateends 27 from the guide 'vvires' 16.15. Thus while the: bucket is raised or lowered by the cable the levers willbe held out of engagement with the guide wires 6, but if the cable 7 should break, the

spring 22 will move the cross head 20 toward the bottom member of the frame 12 and, through the links 24, cause the levers 25 to grip the guide wires 6.

A pair of bifurcated lugs 32 depend from the lower side of the bottom member of the wardly and is provided with a hook-34 directed toward the hook of its companion lever 33. The other arm 36 of each ofsaid levers extends longitudinally of the bottom member of the frame 12 for a purpose to appear later. 7

The hooks 34 of the levers 33 are normally below and in the path of the head 90f the coupling member 8, and if the'cable 7 should part when lowering or raising the cross head 11 and bucket B in the shaft while the head 9 of the coupling member 8 bears against the flange 18 of the tubular member 17 the head 9 will be engaged by the hooks 34 at the same time that thelevers 25 are caused by the spring 22' to'grip the guide wires 6. Thus the bucket will be suspended directly from the cross head 11 by the "hooks 34 and the 4 cross head; irwiu beheld against dropping 33-to' move the hooks 34 out of the path of the head 9 so asto permit the bucket B to be lowered "in" the shaft independently of the cross head 11. The means shown for the purpose will now be described: v 1 i A pair of rests 37, in the form of bell-crank levers, are fulcrumed respectively on beams 40, oneat each side of the derrick above the landing 59. The rests 37 project upwardly into the path of the arms 36 of the levers 33 so that, when the crcssheadis lowered toward the landing 59, the rests 37 will engage the arms 36 of the levers 33' and move the hooks 34 out of the path of the head 9, where- "upon the bucket B may be lowered by'the cable 7 independently of the cross head 11, so that the cross head will be held against downward movement by said rests. The other arms of the rests 37 also extend upwardly and carry pins 39 which project into vertically extending arcuate slots 42 in verticallymovable plates 43 and normally bear against the upper end s of said slots. Said arms of the rests 37 are alsoconnectedby links 45 to levers 44 fulcrumed on'beams above the beams 40. The levers 44 are counterweighted to normally holdthe rests 37fin1the path of t -e cross head 11, as shown in Figure 1. jA second pair of bell-crank levers50, only one of which istshown in Figure 1, are fulcrumed 130 o Lesa-5s? on beams 51, one on each side of the derrick below the landing 59, each of said levers having one of its arms normally extending downwardly out of the path of the cross head 11. The other arms of the levers 50 have pin and slot-connections 49 with vertically movable plates 48'. The plates 48 are connected by rods 46 with the plates 43.

"A third pair of bell-crank levers 54 are fulcrumed on beams 55 above the beams 40. One arm of each of the levers 54 normally projects upwardly into the path of the cross head 11 and the other arm of each of said levers has a pin and slot connection 53 with a vertically movable plate 52. Rods 47 connect the lower ends of the plates 52 to the plates 43, and rods 58 connect the upper ends of the plates 52 to counterweighted levers 57 fulcrumed on beams 56 at the upper end of the derrick.

Assuming the cross head to be supported by the rests 37 and an empty bucket B to have been attached at the landing 59 to the supporting member 10 and it is desired to lower the bucket into the shaft, the cable 7 is drawn upwardly, as by a hoisting engine (not shown). The head 9 of the coupling member 8 will engage and move the flange 18 of the tubular member 17 upwardly until it contacts with the bottom member of the frame 12. The upward movement of the tubular member will, through the instrumentalities already described, release the levers 25 from the guide wires 6. Continued upward pull upon the cable 7 will lift the cross head 11 and bucket B upwardly. When the upper end of the cross head contacts with the levers 54 it will rock said levers and shift the plates 52, rods 47, plates 43, rods 46 and plates 48 downwardly, thus rocking the rests 37 out of the path of the cross head 11 and the levers 50 into said path. The cross head 11 and bucket 13 may then be lowered by the cable 7 into the shaft past the rests 37. As the bottom member of the frame 12 passes the levers 50, which are then positioned in thepath of said bottom member, as shown in broken lines in Figure 1, said levers will be rocked into the full line position out of the path of the cross head 11. This will shift the plates 48, rods 46, plates 43, rods 47 and plates 52 upwardly. The plates 43 and 52 in their upward movement will respectively restore the rests 37 and levers to the positions in which they are shown in Figure 1, i. e. into the path of the cross head 11, so that, when the frame 12 is again lifted by the cable 7, it will lift and ride past the rests 37 until its bottom member is above said rests, whereupon said rests will move back under the arms 36 of the levers 33 to rock the hooks 34 of the latter out of the path of the head 9 and again support the frame 12 against clownward movement. The bucket B may then be lowered by the cable 7 to the landing 59 independently of the frame 12, the bucket B may be removed from the hook 10, and an empty bucket hung on said hook. During the movement of the rests 37 just described the pins'42'will move downwardly and then upwardly in the slots 39' of the plates 43 without moving said plates.

At the bottom of the shaft, fixed means may be provided to retain the cross-head and release the hooks 9 so that the bucket may be moved about for loading.

It will thus be seen that with this arrangement the bucket is properly taken care of and that the same can be freed from the crosshead at the landings, that the miners may be elevated and lowered with safety and that in the event of a broken hoisting cable, the automatic devices on the cross-head will act to support the cross-head and bucket by the guide ropes 6, thus providing a very efficient device for this type of hoist, and one which is readily installed in mine shafts without the necessity of the usual frame work for the metal guides.

In order that the cross-head may be antifrictionally supported or guided upon the wire guides 6, there are mounted upon opposite sides of the frame 12 the casters 30 and 30, respectively, each one of these casters be ing provided with a pair of rollers 31, 31 be tween which the wire guide 6 is adapted to be disposed.

lVhere so desired, proper protective doors or housings may enclose the cross-head and frame 12 so that the parts mounted therein will not injure the occupants of the bucket and also so that the parts may be readily accessible in case of accident or when it is necessary to lubricate and repair them.

WVhat I claim is 1. In a hoisting apparatus, a cross head movable into and out of a shaft past a landing, a hoisting cable movable through said cross head, a bucket-supporting member attached to the lower end of the cable, a pair of pivoted levers attached to the lower por tion of the cross head and adapted to engage the bucket-supporting member and support the same from the cross head in the event the cable parts, means movable into and out of the path of said pivoted levers and normally disposed in said path to engage and release said pivoted leversfrom said bucket-supporting means in the descent of said cross head and permit the lowering of said cable and bucket-supporting means independently of the cross head, and means including a member shiftable lengthwise of the shaft and operable by the movement of the cross head for moving said lever engaging means out of the path of said levers.

2. In a hoisting apparatus, a cross head movable past a landing, a hoisting cable movable through said cross head, a bucket-supporting member attached to the lower end of said cable, a pair of pivoted levers ful-i erumed on said cross head and adapted, when in their normal position, to engage-said bucket-supporting member and support same from said cross head, a pair of hell-crank levers mounted above said landing and nor-' mally positioned with one of their arms in the path of said pivoted levers to engage and release said'pivoted levers from said bucket supporting means and support said cross head against downward movement, pairs of levers mounted, respectively, above and be- 7 low said bell crank levers and means connecting one lever of each of said pairs of: levers to one of said bell-crank levers, said connecting means being operative, when the movable out of position to release said catch and supportsaidcross head, and means inupper pair of levers are engaged by the cross head in its ascent, to rock said bell-crank levers out of the path of said pivoted levers and to rock said lower levers into the path of said cross head and, when the lower levers-are THOMAS FISHER. 7

' engaged by said cross head in its descent to rock saidbellcrank; levers and upper levers into the path of said cross headgy V 3. Ahoisting apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the bell-crank levers are free to be rocked by the cross head out of normal position by the eross'head in its ascent without actuating the connections between the'belL crank levers and upperand lower levers;-

4. In a hoistingappziratus, across head movable lengthwise of a vertical shaft, a

hoisting cablemovable-through said-cross head, a bucket-supporting member attached.

to the lower end of said eable, a pair of levers fulcrumed in thelower portion of said cross head and normally engaging saidbueket-supv porting member to support the same from the cross head in the event that said cable should part, a second pair o'fleversfulcrumed V in the shaft, each of whichjnormally has one of its arms disposed in the path of an arm of one of the firstnamed levers, a third pair of levers fulcrumed in the shaft above the second named pair, onearm of each which is engageable by the cross head in itsupw'ard Vmovement, and means connecting said sec end-named and third-named pairs of levers and operative, when the arms of the third- I named pair are engaged by the cross head, to rock the second-namedpair'out of the path of the first-named levers. v

5. In a hoisting apparatus, across head movable lengthwise of a vertical shaft, a

. hoisting cablemovable through said cross head, a bucket-supportingmember carried'by e i the lowerendof said cable, a catch carried by said cross head and normallyengaging and supportingsaid bucket-supporting memher from said cross head, a catch-releasing and cross-head supporting member normallypositioned in saidshaft to release said catch and; support said cross head during the descent of said cross head, said catch-releasing '7 andg vcross-head supporting member being 

